A Simple Reminder Goes a Long Way with Patient Alerts

Lists, calendars, notes, events, memos, alerts or reminders – we can use any number of terms for our personal note keeping system. The reminders we use all serve a similar purpose, which is to illicit a response from or to educate the reader. Many times a reminder is a method for communicating with a friend, relative or coworker. We may use terms such as ‘don’t forget’ or ‘remember’ or even ‘caution’ within these notifications as indicators for the importance of following the instructions that follow.

…Pick up the dry cleaning on Tuesday

…Prepare for Aunt Jo’s visit this weekend

…Caution: HOT Surface

Reminders and alerts surround us in our daily lives to provide support for events that may occur on an irregular basis. The placement of these reminders should be strategic. The ‘Caution: HOT Surface’ reminder above would not serve its best purpose posted on your refrigerator. Similarly, an ideal location for the dry cleaning note would be a visible location that you pass on your way out the door each day. It is important that your reminders find placement in a location where the reader will find purpose and act accordingly.

We set reminders for ourselves on a daily basis. We place them in conspicuous and strategic locations. We should attempt to avoid “over-placing” our reminders. Over-placing a reminder can occur when a very important task is documented in multiple locations for the sake of reassuring ourselves that the task will not be overlooked. This practice can be dangerous because the reader may become overwhelmed with the frequency of reminders to the point where your reminder could get lost in a sea of notes. Effective and purposeful reminders are the key element for success.

Easy Dental Patient Alerts

Patient Alerts for patient care notes can provide a streamlined reminder system for your team. Accessibility to the setup of a Patient Alert is great! You will find this feature throughout Easy Dental in the following modules: Patient, Accounts, Chart, and Schedule. The Patient Alert setup is stored behind the flag icon.

Setup for a Patient Alert is simple:

Indicate a time frame to display the alert. Place dates into the Start and End fields. The note will expire at the end of the term. Select ‘Always’ if there is no applicable end date to the note.
- Examples for Patient Alert Dates:
  - An alert for a pregnant woman to not have X-rays taken could have an end date placed around the time of the due date.
  - An AMOX pre-medication alert could have an end date placed 2 years after the surgery/joint replacement date.
  - A latex allergy alert could be marked as Always
Place a brief description. Make it brief, the limit for the Description field is 15 characters.
- Examples of Descriptions:
  - PREG-NO XRAYS
  - PREMED-AMOX 2 Y
  - LATEX ALLERGY
A more detailed description for the alert is placed in the Note field. here is your call to action, or reminder for the team.
- Examples of Notes:
  - No X-rays. Pregnant with first child – boy. Due December 2018.
  - PREMED Amox 2 grams 1 hour prior to appointment. Takes for right kneww replacement 2016
  - LATEX ALLERGY – severe reaction! Nitrile gloves only.
THE MOST IMPORTANT SETUP FEATURE is selecting a location (or possibly locations) for the alert to display. This setup controls the effectiveness of your alert by placing a specific indicator to trigger the note. Do yourself a favor and use ‘All’ locations very sparingly. The use of ‘All’ locations for all alerts can quickly lead to over-placing of notes and reduce the overall effect of your alerts.
- Examples of Display Areas:
  - Pregnancy (No X-Rays) can display in the Chart and Create New Appointment areas
  - PREMED can display in the Chart, Create New Appointment, Edit Existing Appointment and Prescriptions areas
  - LATEX ALLERGY can display in the Chart
Additional Options allow you to:
- Place an alert symbol on the patient appointment
- include the aged balance with the patient alert

Share your questions and ideas with us below. We will always be more successful together. Have questions about alerts or notes? Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns at [email protected]

David Broom is Senior Director of Product and Business Development. David has a master’s degree in Information Technology (IT) from the University of Texas in Dallas and has more than 35 years of experience from many global companies such as Hitachi Vantara, Methode Electronics, and Keane, Inc. In his current role, he is responsible for all aspects of the product management and field service teams at Henry Schein TechCentral, which identifies the ideal advanced technologies to meet the unique needs of the dental market and ensure that dental offices are using the right IT to be more efficient and effective.